India reached one billion tonne coal production level on March 20. It had recorded its highest-ever coal production of 1,048 million tonnes in the 2024-25 financial year.“This important milestone underlines India’s growing self-reliance in the energy sector and its commitment to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply to key industries,” the coal ministry said in a statement.The ministry said the increased and sustained coal production levels have enabled the country to effectively meet growing energy demands and allowed the power sector to maintain record stock levels in coal-based thermal power plants.Earlier this month, the government recorded 200MT coal production from commercial and captive coal mines.While over 53 MT of coal is available in thermal power plants – enough to meet about 23 days of demand at the current rate of consumption – pithead coal reserves in various captive and commercial mines are estimated to be around 147 MT, apart from stocks in transit, ports and storage. According to the Central Electricity Authority, power demand is likely to reach 265-270GW this year – with a higher quantity of coal being required during the summer months as power demand increases due to increased use of ACs. Although the share of renewable energy has reached about 52%, with about 250 GW of installed capacity, coal-based thermal power dominates India’s electricity generation.